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Topic: Travel Etiquette I would have never known.... (Read 10786 times)

One of my friends went to italy and made a "rock on" gesture at a man who bought her a drink, and he recoiled in horror. Apparently it's the sign of the devil there?? Rock on gesture is thumb extended with pointer and pinkie finger raised, middle and ring fingers down.

The man may have missed the thumb. A hand with index & little fingers extended is the Sign of the Horns. It can have different meanings in different areas, but in Italy, can be the sign of a cuckold. That is, "your wife is sleeping around without your knowledge." A man who has been cuckolded is often described as wearing horns.

It can also be used to ward off the evil eye. The man may have thought she was accusing him of giving her the evil eye.

Some Christians believe that the gesture is a sign than someone is allied with Satan.

The American Ok gestured is also hugely offensive in Brazil. The closest equivalent would be showing someone the middle finger. However, it does seem to carry a more personal meaning (as in, to a woman, it would mean f.. you directly, to a man, it would refer to his mother).

One of my friends went to italy and made a "rock on" gesture at a man who bought her a drink, and he recoiled in horror. Apparently it's the sign of the devil there?? Rock on gesture is thumb extended with pointer and pinkie finger raised, middle and ring fingers down.

That's actually I love you in ASL. When I do rock on I always fold my thumb down because of that, which looks much more horn like. Maybe he knew ASL and was like "Woah, hey, it's just a drink, lets not go crazy" .

One of my friends went to italy and made a "rock on" gesture at a man who bought her a drink, and he recoiled in horror. Apparently it's the sign of the devil there?? Rock on gesture is thumb extended with pointer and pinkie finger raised, middle and ring fingers down.

Thios gesture is the devils sign, also in rock culture. What I find interesting is that there are people using it as a rock on gesture without knowing the origins and meaning of the gesture. Mind you, it is used to ward of the devil, not to worship him, but that is where the sign comes from in rock culture. It was popularized in rock culture by bands who had references to the occult

One of my friends went to italy and made a "rock on" gesture at a man who bought her a drink, and he recoiled in horror. Apparently it's the sign of the devil there?? Rock on gesture is thumb extended with pointer and pinkie finger raised, middle and ring fingers down.

Thios gesture is the devils sign, also in rock culture. What I find interesting is that there are people using it as a rock on gesture without knowing the origins and meaning of the gesture. Mind you, it is used to ward of the devil, not to worship him, but that is where the sign comes from in rock culture. It was popularized in rock culture by bands who had references to the occult

It was popularized specifically by Ronnie James Dio, who was passing on a warding gesture his sainted grandmother (all Italian grandmothers are sainted, dontcha know) showed him when he was a wee lad.